Woylie

Bettongia penicillata

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Critically Endangered

EPBC Threat Rating: High/Very High

IUCN claim: “The major reason for past decline has been predation by red foxes and feral cats”

Studies in support

Cats commonly predate on reintroduced woylies (James et al. 2002; Priddel & Wheeler 2004; Martin et al. 2006; Wheeler & Priddel 2009; Marlow et al. 2015a). Woylies were last recorded in NSW 7-27 years after cats arrived and in the Nullarbor 53 years after cats arrived (Wallach et al. 202X).

Studies not in support

No correlation was suggested nor tested between woylie and cat abundance (Wayne et al. 2017). Several woylie deaths were attributed to cat predation, but after killing a single cat (described “large”), predation ceased despite other cats remaining in the area (from Moseby et al. 2015).

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

There are no studies evidencing a negative association between cats and woylie populations. The fate of reintroduced animals is not a reliable proxy for the fate of populations.

Evidence linking Bettongia penicillata to cats. A. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Bettongia penicillata and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Bettongia penicillata, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. B. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.

References

Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).

EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).

James, H., Acharya, A.B., Taylor, J.A. and Freak, M.J. (2002). A case of bitten bettongs. The Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology 20(1): 10-12.

Marlow, Nicola J., et al. “Cats (Felis catus) are more abundant and are the dominant predator of woylies (Bettongia penicillata) after sustained fox (Vulpes vulpes) control.” Australian Journal of Zoology 63.1 (2015b): 18-27.

Martin, Sheridan, Stephen Ball, and Paula Peeters. “Reintroduction of the brush-tailed Bettong (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi) into Lincoln National Park.” (2006).

Moseby K, Peacock D, Read J. 2015. Catastrophic cat predation: a call for predator profiling in wildlife protection programs. Biological Conservation 191:331-340.

Priddel, D. and Wheeler, R. (2004). An experimental translocation of woylies (Bettongia penicillata) to western New South Wales. Wildlife Research 31: 421-432.

Wallach et al. 2023 In Submission

Wayne, Adrian F., et al. “Recoveries and cascading declines of native mammals associated with control of an introduced predator.” Journal of Mammalogy 98.2 (2017): 489-50

Wheeler, R., & Priddel, D. (2009). The impact of introduced predators on two threatened prey species: A case study from western New South Wales. Ecological Management & Restoration, 10, S117–S123. doi:10.1111/j.1442-8903.2009.00457.x